


A Heart Has Many Secrets, So I'm Told

by CanaryWarrior, smallsmilliman97



Category: Stargirl (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, F/M, So much angst, villain!Cam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25911475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanaryWarrior/pseuds/CanaryWarrior, https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallsmilliman97/pseuds/smallsmilliman97
Summary: “Run!” Courtney’s voice seems to bring him out of whatever trance he was in, and he does. Rick turns and he doesn’t look back. A voice in his head tells him to turn and fight, he can’t leave the girls to fight those three. He can’t leave Beth. But another, louder voice, tells him to get out of there as quickly as possible, Beth can take care of herself. When he’s finally far enough away, he collapses against the wall, gasping for breath. He rips his hood and mask off, maybe if he could just get out of this costume he could breathe again. He takes a large gulp of air, closing his eyes.After Cameron finds out what happened to his father, he wants to make the JSA hurt, but especially the one person he thought he could trust most.
Relationships: Cameron Mahkent & Rick Tyler, Courtney Whitmore/Cameron Mahkent, rick tyler/beth chapel
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	A Heart Has Many Secrets, So I'm Told

**Author's Note:**

> We present you with lots of friendship angst in the form of Cameron/Rick! Enjoy!
> 
> (Title comes from the song (I'm Gonna) Love Me Again by Elton John)

Rick couldn’t believe his eyes. This wasn’t happening. There was no way. He stood, rooted in place, as he watched Cameron walk through the door behind Tigress. He felt his heart drop and the air leave his lungs. He thinks he hears one of the girls let out a gasp, but he’s too distracted to check. Before Rick realizes what’s happening, Tigress, Sportsmaster and Cameron are running towards them. Cameron is running straight for him. But he can’t bring himself to move. Suddenly a golden burst of energy hits the other boy in the chest, and he goes flying backwards.

“Run!” Courtney’s voice seems to bring him out of whatever trance he was in, and he does. Rick turns and he doesn’t look back. A voice in his head tells him to turn and fight, he can’t leave the girls to fight those three. He can’t leave Beth. But another, louder voice, tells him to get out of there as quickly as possible, Beth can take care of herself. When he’s finally far enough away, he collapses against the wall, gasping for breath. He rips his hood and mask off, maybe if he could just get out of this costume he could breathe again. He takes a large gulp of air, closing his eyes. 

How the fuck did they get here?

Before...

Courtney sighed as she plopped down next to Yolanda and Beth on her couch. She had to step away from her friends to take a call from Cameron, who was grieving for his father. She reached out to him because she was worried for him, and made sure Cameron knew that he could always lean on her.

Of course she didn’t mention that her brother killed Cameron’s father, and that Courtney herself had a hand in his death as well.

“How is he doing?” Beth asked in concern. Even though Jordan blasted her into a wall, she had no ill will towards Cameron. He was always nice to her in school.

Courtney shook her head sadly. “Not good. His mom died a few years ago, and now he lost his dad. He doesn’t even know who his dad truly was.”

“Poor Cameron,” Yolanda said quietly. He was a sweet enough guy, he didn’t deserve to be in that kind of pain. “But he still has his grandparents though, right?”

“His grandparents knew about the machine, they supported Jordan and his New America plan,” Courtney revealed. “I don’t know what they will tell him…”

“Do you think they’ll tell him the truth about the ISA?” Rick asked curiously from his seat.

Courtney shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. I just wish I could help Cameron more. I really care about him, but I don’t know what to say that could help him move on.”

Beth pondered over Courtney’s words. Cameron was an orphan now, none of the girls could relate to him. But maybe Rick could? She turned to the boy and said, “Rick, maybe you should try to reach out to Cameron?”

Rick raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to the guy before. Why me?”

Courtney caught on. “Because you know what he’s going through. You can talk to him, and help him way better than any of us can,” she gestured to herself, Beth, and Yolanda.

“Beth and Court are right, Rick,” Yolanda spoke up. “You can help him move on and maybe stop him from embarking on a villainous path like his father.”

Beth nodded. “So will you reach out to him?” She asked hopefully.

Rick looked between his three friends, who were looking at him with hopeful and pleading eyes. He remembered how alone he felt when his parents died. No one helped him. Maybe if someone did, he would’ve become less angry at the world. Maybe he would’ve been able to be more open with his feelings. Maybe, just maybe, he would’ve become friends with Beth and Yolanda, two of the bravest girls he’s ever met, much sooner.

Rick sighed, knowing he couldn’t say no to the three people who became his new family. “Okay, I will. If he goes to school tomorrow, I’ll approach him.”

His response caused all three girls to smile. Damn, Rick was definitely going soft because of three superheroes. But honestly? He didn’t mind.

Rick only hoped that he could help Cameron deal with being an orphan and potentially stop him from going down a dark path.

~~~~~

Rick stood nervously in the doorframe of the art room, staring at Cameron’s hunched form. There was no way this was going to work. How was he, Rick Tyler, going to help Cameron grieve his father? He took a deep breath, stepping into the room.

“Cameron?” He asked, slowly walking over to the occupied chair. The other boy turned his head, glancing over his shoulder. 

“Rick?” Cameron’s body followed his head until he was turned, fully facing Rick, “What are you doing here?” Rick stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, running his fingers through his hair, unsure what to do.

“I-” Rick paused, did he tell Cameron a version of the truth? Or did he lie? After a moment of contemplation, he decided it was best he didn’t begin this with a lie.

“Court was worried about you, she thought you might want to talk to someone who understood the pain of losing a parent.” Cameron’s face brightened slightly at their friend’s name, he gave a small smile. 

“That’s very thoughtful of her,” Cameron whispered just loud enough for Rick to hear.

“Yeah, she’s the best.” Rick made the rest of the way over to him. “Listen, I lost both of my parents when I was a kid. And I remember how lonely I felt. My uncle took me in but we have a terrible relationship, so I spent years being angry at the world.”

“I’m sorry,” Cameron said softly. “How did you deal with it? You don’t seem that angry anymore.”

“My friends,” the answer rolled off Rick’s tongue easily. “Beth, Court, and Yolanda were the first people who were really there for me. They didn’t judge me or treat me differently.”

Cameron nodded in understanding. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I don’t want you or anyone to go through what I went through all alone. So if you wanna talk about anything, or someone to lean on, I’m here,” Rick finished, shifting his feet. He couldn’t believe he just bared his soul to someone he hardly knows, but at the same time, it felt good to do the right thing.

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I still have my grandparents, and we have a good relationship, but they’re grieving in their own way too,” Cameron said softly. 

“How are they dealing with it?” Rick asked curiously. 

Cameron sighed as he recalled. “My grandmother cries a lot. My grandfather cried too, but he’s distancing himself.”

Rick nodded. “How are you dealing with it?”

Cameron looked down for a few seconds before looking back up at Rick. “I miss him so much. He used to travel a lot, so we weren’t that close for a while. But we were starting to get close again, before he…” Cameron trailed off, wiping his eye. “I still can’t believe that he’s gone.”

“Well, it’s difficult at first. But soon you learn to live with the pain and you learn to live without them. You’ll survive. And you’ll be okay,” Rick said gently, in a voice he usually used with Courtney, Beth, Yolanda, and Mike.

“That seems impossible right now.”

“I know.” Rick grabbed a piece of paper and a spare pen from one of the desks and wrote his number on it. “Here, you can text or call me whenever. Just know that I’m here for you.”

Cameron accepted the paper and genuinely smiled for the first time since his father died. “Thank you, Rick, seriously, this means a lot.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Rick tried to sound nonchalant, but some emotion crept its way into his voice. “I’ll leave you to it. See ya.”

“Bye,” Cameron waved at Rick before turning back in his seat. 

Rick left the room and took a few steps away from the classroom. That went well, right? He thought it did. Rick actually wanted to help Cameron. He truly was a nice kid who lost both of his parents. Even though Jordan was an evil who tried to kill millions of people, including Beth, Barbara, and Pat, Rick still felt bad for Cameron. 

And Rick was pretty sure he just became friends with Cameron Mahkent. 

Now

Courtney watches as Rick bolts down the hall they had come down, while she was watching, she felt her staff pull her up. She turned to look in front of her just in time to avoid Sportsmasters hockey puck. She stood up straight before charging toward the older man, raising her staff above her head.

Yolanda ran straight for Cameron before catching sight of Beth in the corner of her eye. She kept dodging Tigress’s attacks, but she would not be able to keep it up. Yolanda stared Cameron down, blood boiling in anger. She clenched her fists before sprinting to her friend’s side. Yolanda released her claws as she pounced at the woman. She clawed at Tigress’s arm, making her drop her crossbow as she cried out in pain. The three of them continued trading blows, the girls never quite getting the upper hand, but they kept Tigress on her toes.

Courtney desperately tries to get her staff to distract Sportsmaster so she can talk to Cameron. Maybe if she could just talk to him. She knew that he had to still care about her, the feelings they had for one another, the moments they shared. As much as she had hurt him in the past week, he had to still care. So if she could just get to him. 

She feels his bat connect with her stomach and she doubles over in pain, gasping for breath. She hears Sportsmaster laugh, but it sounds far away. Damn, that man is strong. She brings the staff up to shield herself from a blow to the head, and as she struggles to get the man away from her, she tries to catch a glimpse of Cameron. But he isn’t there any more. She scans the room, eyes desperately searching for the familiar figure, now encased in ice, like his father used to be. With a burst of energy brought upon by her panic, she sent Sportsmaster flying backward unto the wall.

“Girls, where’s Cam?” Her voice comes out more panicked than she means, and she sees a terrified look in Beth’s eyes.

~~~~~

Rick’s lungs struggle to regain the oxygen he needs as tears begin to blur his vision. He couldn’t believe this. Cameron had joined the ISA. The thing he had promised Courtney he wouldn’t let happen, had happened. And there wasn’t anything he could do now, but sit here and gasp for breath, as his girlfriend and friends fight his best friend. His brother. 

His best friend. Rick squeezes his eyes shut, hoping that will keep the tears from flowing, but it doesn’t work and he feels the tears carve their way down his cheeks. His chest began to heave with sobs as he stared at his shoes. What was wrong with him? He hadn’t cried like this since… Since his parents died. Shit. That thought just brought an aching to his chest that made it hard to breath. 

After a few moments of clutching his chest, trying to regain his ability to breath, he felt a shiver run down his spine. Shit, no. No no no no no. This wasn’t happening. Rick couldn’t do this. He couldn’t look at Cameron.

“Stand up, Rick.” Rick brought his face up, his tear stained cheeks on full display. His breathing had mostly evened out, but the ache in his chest was still gnawing at his insides.

“I said Stand. Up. Rick.” Cold steam flowed off of Cameron as he clenched his fists, glaring at the pathetic boy in front of him. Rick’s hands were still on his chest when he spoke.

“I’m not going to fight you, Cam.” Cameron felt tears freeze in the corners of his eyes. No, he wouldn’t let Rick remind him of that bond they shared. Rick had hurt him more than anyone had ever hurt him. And all he wanted to do was make Rick hurt like he did.

“Yes, you are.” Rick sadly shook his head, new tears forming.

“I won’t.”

“GAH!” Cameron shot a wall of ice down the empty hallway. “JUST GET UP AND FIGHT ME, YOU COWARD!”

Before...

“You should really just ask her out, bro.” Cameron smirked at his friend, whose face turned bright red at his comment.

“Shut up.” Rick buried his face in his arms, “Just shut up.”

Cameron let out a loud laugh, watching as the three girls walked over to the swings. Courtney glanced back at him, a small smile on her face. She waved before turning back to Yolanda, talking about who knows what. He felt his heart do a little dance in his chest as he looked down, a wide smile spreading across her face. Finally, Cameron slammed his hands down on the picnic table.

“Okay, your embarrassing moment has passed, time to get up and do something.”

“No, I’m just going to wallow here for a little bit longer,” Rick muttered into the table. Cameron rolled his eyes, walking around to pull on his elbow.

“Come on, you’re going to play one-on-one with me.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s what normal bros are supposed to do.”

“When have we ever done what normal bros do together?”

“Fair point.” Cameron playfully punched Rick’s arm, “What do you suggest we do then, and it can’t be sit here and mope, I am having none of that shit, right now.” Rick groaned, throwing his head back in frustration.

“But that’s all I want to do!” Rick whined as Cameron pulled him toward the park.

“Too bad, we’re going to do something.” Rick sighed, scanning the equipment. His eyes lit up when he saw the giant rope swing/teeter-totter.

“We’re doing that.” Rick pointed at it, and Cameron grinned back at his friend.

“Hell yeah.” The pair broke into a sprint, each wanting to beat the other. 

“I won!” Rick shouted, lifting the hand that wasn’t clutching the rope above his head. Cameron gasped for breath, putting his hands on his knees.

“That’s,” He brought his hands up to rest on the top of his head, “That’s not fair. We both know I don’t work out.” Rick cracked a smile.

“That doesn't mean shit.” Rick smirked, gesturing to the other seat. Cameron grabbed onto the rope, hoisting himself up on the small circle. Rick had an evil glint in his eyes as he began yanking on the rope, getting a nice swing going, before pulling himself up to sit on the second circle. The pair laughed loudly as they pumped their legs, trying to get the other to fall off from the movement.

~~~~~

“Beth, Courtney, your boys are acting like idiots again.” Yolanda spoke, leaning against the swings chain to get closer to Beth. Beth and Courtney both turned to watch as Rick and Cameron laughed, swinging back and forth on the ropes. Beth felt a lightness in her chest at the look of pure joy written all across Rick’s face. She’d never seen him like this before. 

“I’m glad we had him talk to Cam.” Courtney smiled, “Getting to talk to someone who gets it has changed him.” 

“They both look so happy.” Beth smiled at the sight. 

“Yeah, they do,” Yolanda noted. “I hope it stays that way.”

Now...

“Cam, please,” Rick’s voice was so small, he sounded broken. He felt broken. He pushed himself up onto his feet. He couldn’t fight Cameron, but maybe he could get him to understand what had happened.

“Please, can we just talk about this.” Cameron grits his teeth.

“Now you want to talk? After it’s all said and done? No, you had plenty of opportunities to talk to me, to explain, but you were a coward, and now it’s too late.” Rick’s stomach churns at his words. 

“Cam…” Rick reaches out to touch his shoulder, but before he can, Cameron pulls back.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Cameron, please,” Rick was begging, but he didn’t care, he just wants his friend back, “Please, this isn’t you!” Cameron narrowed his eyes before scoffing.

“If you believe that, maybe you didn’t know me as well as you thought.”

“No, I do know you, Cam!” Rick exclaimed desperately. “You’re my best friend, my brother! I’m sorry I hurt you, but please, let’s just talk about this!”

Cameron scoffed, ignoring the freezing tears on his face. “If I was really your brother, you would’ve told me the truth.”

“I wanted to, I really did!” Rick pleaded, recalling how he told the team he wanted to be honest with Cameron and tell him the truth about what happened to Jordan.

Before...

“Court, Beth, Yolanda, I think we need to come clean about Cam’s dad.” Rick crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at the three girls sitting on the couch. Courtney’s face drained of color at the idea.

“Rick, no!” Courtney shot up, “We can’t! Mike…” Her voice grew small at her brother’s name. Rick’s eyes soften.

“We don’t need to tell the truth, but…” Rick needed them to understand, he couldn’t keep living like this, “But I need him to know we have something to do with Jordan’s death.”

“Rick, think about Courtney though,” Beth stood up, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder, “You’re asking her to tell her boyfriend that her brother killed his dad.” Rick muscles tensed. They didn’t understand. He honestly didn’t expect them to. 

“Are you sure telling Cameron the truth about his father is a good idea?” Yolanda inquired.

Rick sighed. “Doesn’t he deserve to know the kind of person his father was? He needs to know the truth about Icicle. If he finds out the truth from someone else, like someone in the ISA, who knows what dark path he may take!”

“I get it Rick, I do,” Courtney began. “But I have to protect Mike. He killed Jordan to save me and Yolanda, if Cam found out that Mike did that…”

“Tell him it was me.” Yolanda stated.

“What?!” Beth, Courtney, and Rick all exclaimed.

“I killed Brainwave, I don’t mind taking the heat for killing Icicle. And I want to protect Mike. He and Cameron both care about each other, I’m not going to ruin that,” Yolanda said firmly. It made sense if she was the one who killed Icicle, Cameron would believe that.

Courtney shook her head. “Yolanda, no, I am not going to ask you to do that, and I know that Mike wouldn’t want you to either.”

“Court, it’s okay. Rick is right, Cameron deserves the truth and we’ll give him as much of the truth as we can,” Yolanda said softly. “So if Rick decides to tell him that Jordan was killed by the JSA, he’ll tell Cam that it was me, right Rick?” She gave a pointed look to her friend.

Rick hesitated. He understood what Yolanda was doing, and he honestly respected it, but was this truly the best thing to do? He bit his lip, contemplating what to do next. Cameron was like the brother he never had. But these three girls had been the one to make the initial plunge, pulling him out of the dark hole he’d been in since his parents died. He sighed, heart heavy.

“I won’t say anything.” He looked into Courtney’s eyes as he said it.

“Thank you,” she reached up to pull him into her, clutching him tightly. 

“No problem.” Rick gave her a smile when she pulled away that didn’t reach his eyes.

Now...

“Sure you did, I totally believe you.” Cameron folds his arms, shrugging his shoulders. Deep down, Cameron wants to believe him, he really does. But he can’t let himself. Believing Rick Tyler was the reason he was here, in this situation. Believing he had wanted to be friends with him, the lonely nerd art boy who had dozens of friendly acquaintances, but not a single friend. 

How could it have all been a lie, though?

Before...

“Dude, you’re just asking her out. What’s the worst that can happen?” Rick gave Cameron an incredulous look.

“What’s the worst that can happen? Where to begin!” Rick threw his hands in the air widely.

“She could laugh at me, for starters,” Rick began pacing, “She could tell me she never wants to see me again.” Rick continued to rave, while Cameron watched, amused. 

When Cameron started laughing, Rick paused turning on his heels to glare at his friend. 

“Don’t laugh! Those are all totally possible!” Cameron shook his head, wiping a tear from his eye.

“None of those things are going to happen,” Cameron walked over to his friend and gently placed an arm on his shoulder, “Because the worst case scenario is she says she can’t on Friday.”

“You act like her saying yes is definitely happening.” Rick rolled his eyes as he brushed Cameron’s hand off him. 

“Because she is saying yes.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’m dating her best friend, and Courtney complains all the time about how Beth never shuts up about you.” Rick’s face went red. That had to be a lie, there was no way Beth talked about him nonstop.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not, though!” Cameron laughed

“You totally are.”

“I swear!” Cameron brought a hand to his heart, “You know I’d never lie to you.” Rick smiled, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“I don’t know if I believe you.” Cameron laughed as he elbowed the other boy in the ribs.

“If you don’t believe me, does that mean I shouldn’t believe you?” Rick’s heart pounded in his chest.

Yes.

“Of course you can believe me.” Rick responded, which wasn’t a lie, technically.

“Okay, then you should believe me when I say that Beth will say yes.”

“Okay, FINE!” Rick sighed, trying to seem as carefree as possible, “I’ll believe you, for now.” Hee narrowed his eyes, earning a chuckle from Cameron.

“That’s all I ask.”

~~~~~

“This was an amazing idea, Cam,” Court whispered as they ducked into their seats at the back of the theater. Cameron beamed over at his girlfriend.

“I am known to have a few of those.” She laughed, leaning into his side. Cameron let his eyes roam the rows in front of them, desperately trying to find Beth and Rick. 

“There they are!” Courtney pointed to the middle row. Cameron craned his neck to see around the family a few rows in front of them.

“Ah!” he finally spoke.

“Now the spying can begin.” The pair exchanged a mischievous grin as they leaned back in their seats, eyes focused on the only other teen couple in the theater.

~~~~~

“So…” Cameron poked Rick’s side, “How’d the date go?” Rick punched him in the shoulder.

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb, Mahkent, Beth and I both saw you and Courtney at the theater, AND the diner.” Cameron grinned.

“Fine,” he raised his hands in surrender, “You’re right, we were spying. But all we could tell was that it was going well. What happened?” Rick’s face flushed as he remembered the previous night.

“Come on! Spill!” Cameron whacked Rick’s stomach, prompting the boy to describe in vivid detail, the events of the evening.

Now...

“I did, Cam, please...” Rick takes another step forward, prompting the other boy to take a few steps back.

“Stop calling me that.” Rick stops dead in his tracks.

“Only my friends call me Cam.” Rick slowly lets his eyes fall closed, as his heart breaks once again.

“Please, just listen to me.”

“NO! When are you going to get it?” Cameron snarls, “I will never listen to anything you have to say ever again.”

Before...

Cameron doesn’t want to believe it. There’s no way Rick or Courtney would do something like that. Right? He tried to calm his breathing as he slowed to a stop in front of the Pit Stop. He threw open the door bolting into the garage.

“Cam?” he heard Rick ask as he stormed up the stairs.

“Tell me it isn’t true.” Cameron felt his nails dig into the palms of his hands as he squeezed his hands into fists.

“Tell you what isn’t true?” Courtney stood up from her place draped across the couch. Cameron whipped his head in her direction, tears blurring his vision.

“Tell me that you guys didn’t kill my dad.”

The look of dread that passed over the group’s faces told Cameron everything he needed to know. He felt his blood run cold.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Cameron’s voice was heartbreakingly small when he spoke. He looked over at his best friend.

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

“They were just trying to protect me!” Yolanda interjected, stepping between friends.

Cameron’s gaze shifted to the taller girl. “What are you talking about?”

“Yolanda-” Beth began, reaching towards her friend.

“It’s okay, Beth,” Yolanda assured her before turning back to Cameron. “I’m the one who killed your father. He threw Beth against a wall, tried to throw Barbara off the roof, put a hit out on Court and her family, including Mike. He was going to kill Courtney, Beth, Rick, Mike, and Justin. So… I killed him.”

“He also killed Joey,” Courtney piped in sadly. 

Cameron shook his head. There’s no way that’s true, right? His dad was a good guy, he was a good dad. “No, there’s no way he did that…”

“He did, Cam,” Rick said softly. “I’m sorry, he wasn’t a good guy. Yolanda,” Rick took a breath, preparing himself for the lie, “was trying to save us. And she did. I’m so sorry, Cam…”

“Why didn’t you tell me? You had every opportunity to tell me the truth!” Cameron yelled in anguish at his best friend. He turned to his blonde girlfriend. “Why didn’t you?”

Rick didn’t know what to say. He did want to tell Cameron the truth, but he didn’t want to hurt him. He didn’t want to destroy his best friend’s view on the world. Rick thought he had time to think about what would be the best way to tell him the truth. But it was too late.

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” Rick pleaded. “Just give me a chance to explain-”

“No! You had plenty of chances!”

“Cam, please,” Courtney begged. “I love-”

“Don’t, just don’t.” Cameron backed away before turning back to stare Yolanda in the eye.

“How do you sleep at night?” He growled, making Yolanda cower in fear. “How can you sleep at night knowing you killed someone’s father?” He spat at her, shaking in rage.

“It was me.” Mike’s small voice cut through the tense silence. Cameron turned to look at the young boy, disbelief written across every inch of his face.

“What?”

“I ran into him with my car and he shattered,” Mike had tears in his eyes, “I didn’t mean to! It… It was an accident.” The tears in Cameron’s eyes began to fall as he turned once more to look at Rick.

“Lying just comes naturally to you, doesn’t it?” Cameron’s voice was surprisingly even, for all the emotions that were bubbling to the surface. But what surprised him most was the fact that he was more upset at Rick than Courtney, the girl he loved. Rick was supposed to be his best friend. He was supposed to be there for him no matter what. He was supposed to always tell him the truth.

Cameron turned quickly and bolted down the stairs, he had to get out of here, he needed to breathe. He heard his friend’s footsteps following him, but he refused to turn around. Refused to give Rick the satisfaction of seeing his face. He slammed the car door, fumbling to get the keys in the ignition. 

Rick’s palms collided with the window before he managed to get the key in.

“Cam, please, let me explain.”

Cameron kept his head facing forward. He couldn’t look at Rick. He was afraid that if he did, he might actually listen to him. And he would rather do anything else right now. So he fumbled with his keys for another second before finally turning the ignition and shifting into reverse. When he finally allowed himself to look in the rearview mirror, all he saw was Rick’s silhouette standing in the middle of the road, watching the car get farther and farther away.

Now...

“Cam…” 

“What did I JUST SAY!” Cameron screams, making Rick recoil in fear.

“Please, Cam, I didn’t mean for this to happen!” Cameron feels the tears in his eyes once more and tries in vain to make them go away. After everything, why is he still crying over Rick Tyler?

“Sure you didn’t.”

“Cam, you are my best friend, please,” Rick begs, he desperately just wants them to be okay. They’re brothers, they HAVE to be okay, Rick doesn’t know if he could handle it if they weren’t okay.

“Maybe this way?” The pair turn to the right, as the familiar timbre of Courtney’s voice carries over to them from down the hallway. They glance back at each other. Rick attempts one last time to reach out and touch his friend. But Cameron slowly begins walking down the hallway.

“This isn’t over.” He speaks quietly before turning and bolting down the hallway, in the opposite direction of the girls.

“Rick!” Beth’s voice brings Rick out of his trance and he turns, opening his arms, letting his girlfriend throw herself into his arms.

“Are you okay?” Yolanda asks as she and Courtney each place a hand on his shoulder. Rick looks at the three girls in front of him. He wants to tell them he’s fine, they’re the ones with cuts and bruises. But the pain in his chest hurts worse than any injury he’s gotten fighting in the JSA. 

“No.” He whispers. He buries his face in the crook of Beth’s neck and slowly begins to cry.


End file.
